AMSCO 6.4 Global Economic Development Notes

1 min read•june 18, 2024

📖 AMSCO p.398 - p.406

Technological Advances

Before railroads, people had to travel by water or poorly kept roads
Railroads lowered the cost of importing raw materials from Asia and Africa → Europe
- Ex. British colonizers built many railways all across India to ship their raw materials
Steamships carried people, mail, and goods across rivers
- Became more efficient in 1870s when better engines and refrigeration were invented
Telegraph helped people communicate faster
- Invented in 1832

Agricultural Products

Before colonization, Asian and African farmers mainly practiced subsistence farming — lived off of their own crops
Colonizers encouraged them to instead grow cash crops to be sold in markets
- tea, cotton, sugar, coffee
Cash crops made food prices rise in these nations

Raw Materials

As demand for raw materials rose, colonies became export economies
In 1721, Britain banned Indian cotton textiles because they were a threat to the local wool industry
- Colonies began to only produce raw materials, while England manufactured textiles
Rubber — harvested in Southeast Asia and transported to Britain as an important industrial material
- Many workers were punished brutally for not extracting enough rubber
Palm oil — required to lubricate factory machines in England
- A commodity in West Africa for 5,000 years before
Ivory — used for luxury or ornamental goods; known for its beauty and durability
- Ivory Coast was named after its trading posts to purchase ivory and enslaved people
Diamonds — 90% were produced by the De Beers Mining Company in 1891

Mineral Production Locations

Global Consequences of Industrialization

Industrialized nations got richer → stock exchanges grew
- Investments and global markets were protected
Developing nations were able to grow few crops due to damaging cash cropping methods
- Their environments were damaged to clear up land for farming
Many former colonies still struggle to fertilize their lands today due to extensive environmental decay

Apartheid in South Africa

British Empire captured the Dutch Cape Colony in the early 1800s
Although slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833, slaves became indentured servants and received almost the same harsh treatment
Cecil Rhodes became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in 1890
Legislation was passed to place restrictions on indentured laborers, which further increased the racial inequality and set the stage for the future apartheid

Term	Definition + Significance
Cecil Rhodes	A British politician investor who invested in a failed railroad project from Cape Town, South Africa with Cairo, Egypt; Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890-1896
Subsistence farming	A farming method where people only grow enough crops to feed themselves and their families
Cash crops	Crops that are grown to be sold on a market, not eaten by the farmer
Guano	Bat and seabird excrement that was used as a natural fertilizer; originated in South America and was exported to other countries
Export economy	A country where international trade makes up a large percentage of its economy
Vulcanization	A process that hardens rubber and makes it easier to manufacture goods; invented by Charles Goodyear
Monocultures	A lack of crop diversity in developing nations due to cash crop farming
Apartheid	Racial segregation in a country (ex. South Africa during 1900s)
De Beers Mining Company	Largest diamond production company in the 1800s
Electric telegraph	An invention that allowed people to communicate with each other by making and breaking an electrical connection